Welcome to the new forums on BobAtkins.com. You'll see that the layout is different from the old forums and that's because it's an entirely new system. The old forums were flat file based (i.e. text wasn't stored in a database), which meant that they were slow, and the system security was bad meaning that they could be (and were) hacked. Since BobAtkins.com is now operating from a new server that offers greater flexibility I thought it best to do it right rather than to try to resurect the old (and somewhat flakey) forums.

These new forums are database backed and have a much higher level of security. They also have the capacity of adding more features in the future, plus they should be faster. These who have visited the LensPlay.com forums will recognize the format since these forums are based on the same software but use a different syle sheet.

It will be difficult, probably impractical, to import all the old forum posts into this forum, so we're starting out from scratch. I'm looking into making the old forum posts available via a "read only" interface so the information in them is not lost, but that may take a while.

In the meantime, please use these new forums for questions and comments. I'll add catagories as they become needed, but I'm starting out simple!

Thank you very much for getting your forums back up. I have been reading (and learning) from your website(s) over the past number of months. I find it to be a great resource and it has helped me focus on my hobby. I recently purchased a 5D and have been trying out some lenses before taking the next step. It has been a lot of fun.

Again, thank you for your time and effort, as well as the many people who have posted on the LensPlay forums. I can't tell you how much it has inspired me. I look forward to the new forums and my continued education.

Bob,I also find your web site one of the most informative. I am a 30D user with 4 years DSLR experience, but still an awful lot to learn. Your guidance plays a significant role in my decisions about lens buying in particular. Thank you for re-opening this forum.

I had a couple of thoughts while reading your survey response posting.

I wonder if the navigation bar and search features would feel more "like part of the site" if they:1) Had a background color more similar to the body of the page2) On the News page, were not separated from the body of the page by advertising. The BobAtkins.com words and "Visit the Gallery" banner feel like ads because there is a very similar ad banner immediately below them. I don't mind ads in the middle of content, but appreciate a design that makes all ads and banners visually distinct from site content.3) Had the site title prominently part of it (instead of the prominent title being part of the page body). While the site title is at the very top of the navigation bar, it is pretty small compared to the version at the top of the page body.

The search function was "invisible" to me because it wasa) above advertisingb) to the left of advertisingc) not part of the navigation bard) labelled only with Google, making me uncertain if I would be searching the web or this site only.

Thanks for the feedback. You make good points. Sometimes I don't see these things because I'm too close to the site. Since I built it I know where everything is so I don't see it in the same way as someone first coming to it.

I'll take a look at the points you mention. The search has the Google "branding" because that's part of the obligation to Google. Removing it would be a violation of their policy. However on the home page I added "Search this site" text above the search box, and that might be an idea for the other pages too.

I'm looking at the navigation scheme. Technically it's the most difficult part of the site to program and maintain but I do agree it could be better (and hopefully will be!).

The google branding is fine, and I think the two radio buttons under the Search field work well to reassure the user about what they are searching. However- the search function appearance and location varies under Learning, Forums, and The Rest. It would be great to have this be consistent everywhere.- the two radio buttons version does not appear under Home, News, Reviews, and Canon EOS.

Also, the navigation bar does not appear at the top of Forums, so once you enter Forums it feels as though you are "stuck" there unless you use the Back button or have one of the other pages on the Favorites list. I just discovered the "Return to: BobAtkins" link at the top left of the Forums page, but it was not what I thought I was looking for (I was expecting a button similar to those in the navigation bar), so I did not see it the first three times I looked for it.

I *really* like the BobAtkins.com logo location at the top left of the Forums page, and would suggest you consider placing it there in ALL site sections (i.e. as the left section of the navigation menu), possibly with the same "return to" link everywhere for consistency.

I do not wish to be overly picky or a pain to you! You have wonderful content - I am just one of those "overly detail oriented" types...

That's the penalty for using someone else's code! However it takes about 1000x less time than developing my own forum software. I will however look into modifying the forum template to unify the navigation structure. I don't think it's an impossible task and it may, in fact, be quite easy. It's just a matter or rewriting the header file (easy to say of course).

I may see if I can rework the navigation menus before I add them to the forum though. Then I just keep my fingers crossed that the menus work the same in all current versions of all major browsers!

I'm painfully aware that there are parts of the site which follow a slighly different format. Over 10 years, there have been several design changes and there's stuff left over from previous designs. At last count there were over 1500 URLs on the site and. in time I'll maybe get to them all, but there are usually more pressing issues than reformatting a page on a camera that's 6 years out of date and nobody is very interested in anymore or a page that gets about 1 vistor each week.

All comments are welcome, even "nit-picks" and even things that I probably won't get around to changing. I have a very narrow view of the site since I'm too close to it and to me everything is obvious!

Bob-I really appreciate your reviews. Your review of the Canon EF-S 17-85 has really helped me sort out my thinking on lens selection. Of a very minor note, the "Sharpness" section of the 17-85 review refers to lenses "testes" (should be tested). Nonetheless, the 17-85 should help my confidence .

Bob, My Name is Marc Fisher, my kids and g kids, and friends call me Poppy. I just want to think you for your articles, I joined this forum because I read a piece by you, Modifying the Canon EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens for use on a Canon EOS 10D. I want to introduce myself to the forum. Thanks!!!!Poppy